Rescue Me
by Pixietails
Summary: /Post-MGS4\ Despite retiring, Snake finds himself on another mission at Otacon's request, a simple mission that should cause him no problems. However, things are never that easy...


**Disclaimer: **MGS and everything of that nature belongs to Konami and Hideo Kojima and anyone else and stuff. It's not mine, k?

**Warnings: **Set after the events of MGS4, though there aren't really any spoilers...

* * *

Solid Snake lowered his gun, feeling no remorse for the man he'd just taken down. War, countless battles, difficult times . . . they'd hardened the so-called legendary hero. Besides, that man had been coming after him, he was an enemy, and Snake had no choice. Maybe it was a bit unfair, but he'd holed up with Otacon in a ruined building, waiting for soldiers to pass his way so that he might pick them off. _No_, he thought, _it really _wasn't _unfair._ It was survival. A man had to do what he could . . .

When the fight began, they had known that they were outnumbered, but they pressed on regardless of that fact. For some time, they'd roamed the dusty streets in search of the enemy, but after losing Mei Ling in a burst of automatic fire, Snake had quickly grabbed Otacon and ducked into a nearby building, cursing softly. The remaining pair had been lucky not to sustain any injuries in the brief firefight. Unfortunately for Mei Ling, the poor girl hadn't stood a chance; these desolate, war-ridden streets were no place for her. Otacon had been decidedly upset at the idea of leaving their downed teammate, but they couldn't stop to take her with them. They would have to return for her when the fight was over.

"Otacon," Snake whispered, his voice rough, tired. "What do you see . . . ?" The dust was kicking up from a sudden gust of wind and visibility was close to zero from his sniper's position. He could hardly see a thing. He didn't have the luxury of using his Solid Eye here. Hell, he didn't even get his OctoCamo. He was just wearing camouflage pants, combat boots and a black shirt, the closest thing he really had to civilian clothes. All of it, mission included, was Otacon's idea. Or rather Otacon's demands...

Their supplies were also limited. Snake had a single gun and no extra ammo, he had to make it count. It was his only weapon. While Otacon had been given a gun as well, he'd never fired it, and Snake didn't expect him to ever fire it either. Instead, the good doctor brought with him the Mk. III, acting as Snake's eyes.

"Nothing yet. They must be in hiding . . . "

"Keep scouting. I'm not gonna risk losing you too."

"Snake . . . "

Otacon trailed off, looking a little upset as he glanced down at the laptop in front of him. The battle was definitely frightening; how did Snake handle situations like this? When the first shots rang out, Otacon felt as though his heart had stopped. If Snake hadn't grabbed onto him and forced him to move, he would have probably joined Mei Ling . . .

When the wind began to die down, Snake could see the sunbaked streets once again, but there was no movement. Their enemies had probably been alerted to a sniper, they weren't going to just charge the building. That would be tantamount to suicide. The other entrances to their hideout had been weakly barricaded; Snake was sure they would not hold up to an attack, but they would, at least, make noise when broken down . . . it would give Snake and Otacon a heads up.

As time ticked by, Snake shifted his position, feeling his back crack a little with the movement. How much longer was this going to go on? He was really getting too old for this kind of thing . . .

"I wonder what the others are up to . . . " he grumbled, watching the streets ahead of him.

* * *

The underground bunker was dirty and dim, the fluorescent overhead lights dingy, flickering often and making it difficult to see. For the past quarter of an hour, Meryl had hidden herself down there, Johnny crouched at her side, looking very unnerved. They'd had no contact with the rest of their team, it was safe to assume that they'd fallen to the enemy.

"Damnit!" Meryl cursed, punching the wall next to Johnny's head. "We can't just stay down here hiding! We're stronger than this . . . Come on, we have to move out of here."

"Huh? But . . . hey, wait! Meryl!" Johnny watched Meryl slip by him, having no choice but to reluctantly follow after her, keeping low. "We can't go out there! Jonathan and Ed—"

"We can't stay down here either!" Meryl snapped, giving Johnny a dark look and efficiently silencing the blonde. "Look, we have an obligation to uphold. We have someone to rescue, and we're not going to just give up. This place isn't even a good hiding place; there are tons of entrances . . . anyone could sneak up on us. We have to move! Got it?"

Johnny nodded mutely, gripping his gun tightly as he followed Meryl up a set of crumbling stairs, a harsh, hot breeze accosting him the moment he stepped outside. Dust clouded his vision, his sunglasses at least protecting his eyes, but not at all aiding his sight.

"Akiba," Meryl whispered, glancing around the streets. Despite Johnny's request, she felt the nickname was more appropriate on a mission. "What's the quickest route?"

It only took Johnny a matter of seconds to input the information on the keyboard on his arm, the lenses of his sunglasses relaying the data to him. Their target was being held captive in a building not far away, the way there would take a mere few minutes.

"Huh . . . they all seem to be about the same distance . . . this warehouse here would take us there, but the door seems to be stuck. Oh, but don't worry! There's another way here. Cover me, okay? I'll lead us . . . " Johnny glanced at Meryl, who nodded once, taking her position behind the blonde.

The pair crept along, slipping into a dusty side street, stopping for only a moment to confirm their itinerary. It was in that brief moment that Meryl caught the sun glinting off a rifle scope above them, unable to react quickly enough. A single shot rang out and her blood ran cold as Johnny cried out in alarm, falling back onto the street. Forcing herself to move, Meryl barely managed to avoid the following shot by rolling into the nearby alleyway, Johnny's prone form still in her line of sight.

"Akiba!" Meryl shouted, voice breaking with anguish. "Akiba, no!"

As expected, there was no answer. Johnny was not going to get back up, no matter how much she called out to him. Anger took over and she ran out into the alley with a wordless cry of rage, opening fire on her enemies. Even if she lost the battle, she would get first revenge for Johnny . . .

* * *

The Mk. III hadn't found anything of interest, it was almost pointless to keep searching when the wind stirred up so much dust. Otacon closed his laptop and slipped over to where Snake was crouched, jumping a little when he suddenly fired, taking down yet another enemy. How many was that now? They'd brought down almost the entire enemy squad. As he sat there pondering the numbers, several shots suddenly rang out from below, Snake quickly diving for cover. Unfortunately, Otacon was not as swift. It took him several moments to realize the stinging sensations on his chest and torso meant that he'd been shot, his surprise quickly fading as he fell back, eyes sliding closed.

"_Otacon_!"

Damnit! No, that wasn't supposed to happen! Snake was supposed to protect Otacon . . . how could he have been so careless? He should never have sacrificed Otacon's safety for his own, that was the biggest mistake he could make. Just what the hell had he been thinking? He should have risked being shot himself in order to make sure that Otacon was behind cover. It was just instinct to take care of himself first, Otacon rarely went on missions with him. As he sat there, staring at Otacon, he knew there was no need for him to check on the other man. The scientist's coat was no longer white; red had blossomed in so many spots that Snake couldn't even count how many times Otacon had been shot. There was no hope for him . . .

"Damnit, Hal . . . "

There was no time for him to grieve, not with the enemy infiltrating his base. With surprisingly steady hands, Snake checked his ammo situation, a loud crash from downstairs telling him a barricade had fallen. There was little time . . . he had to finish things.

Hasty footsteps sounded from the floor below him, the sound soon coming more quickly together, signaling that the enemy had reached the stairs. Snake took aim and fired the moment the enemy rounded the corner, the woman's shout sounding more surprised than pained.

"Meryl . . . "

Snake stood from his crouched position, walking over to look down on Meryl. The shot had hit her in the chest, a fatal shot to be sure. Casting his gun aside, Snake looked back to their captive, walking over and plucking her from the table with a frown.

"All of this . . . for a little yellow duck. Whose dumb idea was this . . . "

"It's not dumb!" Otacon argued.

"Hal, you're dead, you're not supposed to talk."

"Didn't you defeat everyone?"

"Well, yeah . . . "

Since the game was over, Otacon sat up and frowning a little at his clothes. "Aw, come on. Didn't you think it was fun? Even if it was kind of scary . . . "

"Fun? Shooting each other with paint is . . . fun?"

"Well, it was exciting! But those little pellets kinda hurt . . . Poor Mei Ling, though, she hardly even got to play. At least she got shot in the shade, she won't fry out there." Otacon forced a short laugh. "But of course you'd win this, Dave . . . You're amazing."

"No kidding. Johnny didn't even see it coming," Meryl said with a small smile, climbing to her feet. "I'd better go retrieve him before he falls asleep out there . . . And get ready to go down in round two, Snake!"

Snake groaned softly, tossing the GA-KO to Meryl. They were switching positions; this time, he'd be trying to rescue the weird little duck.

He was _definitely_ too old for this kind of thing . . .


End file.
